Dish Seen Avoiding Interference That Hurt LightSquared in Probe

Dish Network, the satellite- TV company seeking government approval for mobile-phone service, will probably avoid the interference concerns that thwarted a similar plan by LightSquared, executives and analysts said.

The frequencies Dish owns sit further away from those used by GPS devices than LightSquared’s, and there’s a narrow space between Dish’s spectrum and other frequencies, helping mitigate interference with rival carriers’ signals. “It’s not as close to GPS, so it’s unlikely to interfere,” said Matthew Desch, chief executive officer of Iridium Communications, which operates more than 60 satellites. “But the approval is going to take some time. The FCC is going to make sure they don’t have another LightSquared problem on their hands.” Dish will probably gain approval in six to 12 months, said Bryan Kraft, an analyst at Evercore Partners.